Brain Candle


Marjorie Hellman


Born in Trenton, New Jersey

Resides in Central Falls, Rhode island

SLip


Born in Lyon, France

Resides in Lyon, France



Like a window into another world, Brain Candle brings together two exhilarating artists that play with the idea of visual space and manipulate the very picture plane. Their works contrast in physical presence, but the underlying themes of historical narratives (whether formal or photographic) place the artists in a colorful conversation. The exhibition’s title evokes multiple meanings, some at odds with each other but all interrelated. The notions of physical labor and mental toil are both part and parcel of artistic output. Work must be done if work is to get done. If we look to the old adage “burning the candle at both ends”, we are reminded of contemporary capitalist ideals of working through the night for a better product and future. But is the end result double the brightness or half the duration? Why not think of the human mind as this proverbial fuel source? Using it fully and with real force, grand works of imagination and artistry are possible; the delicate balance between the mental and machine-like ferocity constantly reminds us of the humanity behind any work of art. Burning this brain candle at both ends creates the type of abundant illumination and inquisitive personality present in the show.


Both Marjorie Hellman and SLip toy with the structure of physical reality by subverting space. Hellman works at the juncture of two and three dimensions in a geometric trompe l’oeil that can simultaneously recall both Cubist collage and mid-century hard edge painting. SLip creates at the intersection of the virtual and the real. His digital compositions flatten the timeline of visual history in an attempt to create disquieting scenes of fictive narratives. The artists are each keenly aware of their visual predecessors, and push through direct allusions in an effort to create work that adeptly melds human artistic process with the fine detail of mechanical production.


Hellman’s paintings use color and contrasting shapes to create the illusion of depth and translucency on the two-dimensional plane. Works like Queen Anne at Sutton Place (2019) push beyond their flat surfaces in an attempt to explode into the third dimension. Interested in the crisp perfection of the painted plane, Hellman is adamant about creating a direct connection between the object and the audience. By removing obvious brushstrokes or any other reference to the artist’s hand, she “challenge[s] viewers to think about how the painting was made, to ponder and appreciate the process without clues,” (M. Hellman, Artist Statement, 2021). Finessing such subtle illusions from shaped aluminum panels requires a commitment to formal constraints, something the artist does with gusto. Likewise, her works on paper like Collage 4 harness the shaped support in an effort to create a trompe l’oeil effect with an abstract form. These colored pencil and gouache pieces further the illusion by introducing faux woodgrain, the inclusion of false depth, and rendered patterns that continue to confuse and challenge the eye.


Working in the digital realm, SLip creates collages that mine the visual archive in an attempt to marry traditional cut-out methods with virtual space. Complex, enigmatic narratives form within his square frames that appropriate printed and virtual imagery from across time. Black and white photographs collide with computer renderings amidst a bevy of precarious narratives that leave the viewer looking for the next scene. Interested in the ways in which sources can be decontextualized to stand in for anything and everything, SLip crafts amalgams that subvert the images’ original meaning and deposits them into a universe of his own design. Though the viewer may see these works on a screen or in a physical form, pieces like Ne pas lui laisser la place (2021) exist in a transitory state. Physical images cavort with myriad pixels in a startlingly apropos treatise on our hybrid lives.



Collage 5 by Marjorie Hellman
2020
collage, colored pencil and gouche
12" x 7.5"
Ne pas lui laisser la place by SLip
2021
digital collage
50cm x 50cm
Collage 3 by Marjorie Hellman
2020
collage, colored pencil and gouche
12" x 8.5"
Rixe autour d'une molécule by SLip
2020
digital collage
50cm x 50cm
Queen Anne at Sutton Place by Marjorie Hellman
2020
acrylic on aluminum
46" x 33"
Thug Life by SLip
2021
digital collage
50cm x 50cm
Immonen by Marjorie Hellman
2020
acrylic on aluminum
48" x 32"
Tetris by SLip
2020
digital collage
50cm x 50cm
Ortman by Marjorie Hellman
2019
acrylic on aluminum
54" x 36"
Vague Verte by SLip
2020
digital collage
50cm x 50cm
Cocklestairs by Marjorie Hellman
2021
acrylic on aluminum
30" x 30"
LA DANSE DU VACCIN by SLip
2020
digital collage
50cm x 50cm
Peers by Marjorie Hellman
2020
acrylic on aluminum
32" x 24"
Collection AH 2032 by SLip
2019
digital collage
50cm x 50cm
Turnbuckle by Marjorie Hellman
2020
acrylic on aluminum
46" x 37"
Tu vas pas partir comme ça ?!! by SLip
2020
digital collage
50cm x 50cm
Collage 1 by Marjorie Hellman
2020
collage, colored pencil and gouche
12" x 8.5"
Quand ça fait 4 fois qu’on te dit de venir à table by SLip
2017
digital collage
50cm x 50cm
Collage 4 by Marjorie Hellman
2020
collage, colored pencil and gouche
11.75" x 9"
Fêter la fin d’une ère by SLip
2018
digital collage
50cm x 50cm
Collage 2 by Marjorie Hellman
2020
collage, colored pencil and gouche
12" x 9"
Bal de Promo by SLip
2021
digital collage
50cm x 50cm
You Never Can Tell by Marjorie Hellman
2020
acrylic on aluminum
37.5" x 25"
Impatiente, elle l’attendait à la fin du cours de séduction by SLip
2018
digital collage
50cm x 50cm
War Tuba by Marjorie Hellman
2021
acrylic on aluminum
36" x 36"
La belle, la bête .... et la jalouse by SLip
2020
digital collage
50cm x 50cm
Franklin by Marjorie Hellman
2020
acrylic on aluminum
27" x 18"
Triangle amoureux au pays des soviets by SLip
2017
digital collage
50cm x 50cm
Deus ex Machina by Marjorie Hellman
2020
acrylic on aluminum
36" x 47"
La Hooooooonte by SLip
2020
digital collage
50cm x 50cm
Hamilton by Marjorie Hellman
2020
acrylic on aluminum
27" x 18"
La Tête de Delco by SLip
2021
digital collage
50cm x 50cm
Bellhumeur by Marjorie Hellman
2020
acrylic on aluminum
32" x 20"
Curieuses expériences sur la croissance musculaire by SLip
2017
digital collage
50cm x 50cm
Sewell by Marjorie Hellman
2019
acrylic on aluminum
64" x 43"
Le flambeur et l’intello by SLip
2020
digital collage
50cm x 50cm
Bootherstone by Marjorie Hellman
2019
acrylic on aluminum
23" x 21"
Le Rageux by SLip
2020
digital collage
50cm x 50cm
Wyrus by Marjorie Hellman
2019
acrylic on aluminum
43" x 33"
Confinement Familial by SLip
2020
digital collage
50cm x 50cm
Bouckville by Marjorie Hellman
2021
acrylic on aluminum
12" x 12"
Trop de communication tue la communication by SLip
2018
digital collage
50cm x 50cm